Archives for March 2017

The end of daylight saving to me always signals that the last grip you had on summer has now officially slipped through your fingers, and as such we must march onwards toward the colder months. I for one, and no doubt many Sydney-siders, are a bit relieved given the days and nights of never ending humidity, followed by the days and nights of never ending rain we’ve had.

But already 2 or 3 weeks ago Mr Pet Parent and I were starting to notice that Pussa & Soph’s coats were beginning to bulk out. Why is that, and how do they know what’s ahead?

It’s not your imagination. Most cats will get a thicker undercoat during winter, just like many other mammals including dogs and horses

Thickening of their coat is nature’s way of preparing them for the colder months ahead, which of course they will shed like crazy come spring

It occurs when the cat’s brain starts to detect that there is a lessening in the number of hours of sunlight each day

Coat changes are more obvious in outdoor cats as they respond to greater variation in temperature and light outdoors

Indoor cats tend to have comparatively less variation in these factors but still definitely (if Pussa & Soph are any indication) have differences between their winter and summer coats.

In saying that though, just like humans adjust to the climate they live in so will your cat. If you’re in the tropics where the temperature and daylight hours are pretty consistent year round then your cat is unlikely to have an obvious winter or summer coat. That was certainly our experience when we were in Singapore with Pussa & Soph. In retrospect that’s quite interesting now I think about it. They’d come from an environment where there was distinct variation in the seasons, then moved to one where the number of sunlight hours and temperature was basically the same year round. The result…..no difference in their coats because there wasn’t a difference in daylight hours to trigger it. That being said, we moved up there in August and they both felt particularly overdressed for a period of time!

So your Favourite Feline is preparing themselves for winter, what can you do to give them a bit of a hand?

Make sure whatever you choose to feed them that it’s the best quality you can afford. Good quality food is a significant contributor to their overall health which includes the condition of their coat

Ensure they have some nice warm spots to cat nap in. If your cat is anything like our two, they have an extraordinary ability to locate even the smallest sliver of sunlight and will contort themselves to fit perfectly

Provide them with a variety of bedding that suits their mood. We have the Feline Futons for when they want something to stretch out on, the Cat Cot or Slumber Yard when they’re after something more enclosed, or for the times when you really want to spoil them the Cat Cosy which you can heat up in the microwave for them

Continue on with your normal grooming regime even though they won’t be shedding as much. It helps get rid of old fur (which otherwise they will ingest when they groom themselves and we all know what eventually happens after that) and keeps their skin in good nick.

Cats come into their own in the winter months. There’s nothing nicer than coming home after work to a warm bundle of fur is there?

Mr Pet Parent and I were watching TV the other evening and whatever it was that we were watching had a plot line which was revolving around a separated couple in discussion over getting their child a dog. Yep, I know what you’re thinking…..there’s some riveting television viewing for you. The reason I bring it up is that the mother appeared to be against this idea and proceeded to then be accused of the heinous crime of not only not liking dogs but being a cat lover as well! Cue the gasp and horror from the audience….can there be such a person amongst us? I don’t know about you my fellow cat owner but I get really sick of having to defend my choice of pet. We should not be forced to keep our cat ownership status underground any longer my comrades!

And so it is, in the spirit of our times, that I turn to celebrity to justify my life choices. Surely if celebrities own cats then that validates my decision right? Well, that’s what the global marketing industry is banking on so that we will buy everything from perfume to holidays. But thanks to my ability to surf the web, I have found our little band of feline loving celebrities…..

Ricky Gervais of The Office fame and award show infamy has a cat named Ollie….with his own Facebook page no less.

Taylor Swift, the Feminist to the Pre-Teen girl! Tay-Tay has probably done more to lift the cred of owning a cat than anyone, so more power to you Sister. Plus, she has not one but two puss-cats called Dr Meredith Grey (I had to look this one up… Grey’s Anatomy. Yep, got it now) and Detective Olivia Benson (Law & Order SVU…now you’re talking).

Joanna Lumley, best known as Patsy from Ab Fab, is such a massive cat lover she even made a two part doco called Catwoman. She tells a lovely story about her old cat The Bee who was given as a gift to her son from his girlfriend (now there’s a dangerous gift to give on so many fronts!). Pats, what would the 90’s have been without you darling?

Jessica Rowe. There isn’t much local celeb love on display in support of their favourite felines, happily though Jess is the exception. Good to see she has as much success with getting her husband to agree to a third cat as I’ve had.

Dr Evil of Austin Powers fame and his purring accomplice Mr Bigglesworth. Do you remember the plot? Poor Mr Bigglesworth has an unfortunate experience during the unfreezing process and goes from being a Persian to being a Sphynx.

Mike Pence (the new US Vice-President just in case you’ve been under a rock for the last couple of months) and family moved to Washington in January along with their two cats named Pickle and Oreo. Check out the happy snap of Mrs Pence and the cats. She’s got a certain Dr Evil look about her. Just sayin’…….

Katy Perry has her appropriately name Kitty Purry puss-cat. Her cat even got to appear in the film clip for I Kissed A Girl. I hope Pussa & Soph don’t have similar aspirations because there will only be disappointment ahead.

At least Katy and her ex-husband Russell Brand had one thing in common in their love for cats. Named Morrissey, after the singer, it would appear that he was none too happy when Kitty Purry moved in. Now there was a bellweather for what was to come. Still, nice to see there’s no compunction around a bloke owning a cat…..or waking around with no shirt on making a cat video.

John Cleese might have been divorced 3 times but it seems that true love is 3 cats and wife number 4. There’s also nothing like a good cat gag on TV.

As cat owners we’ve all witnessed behaviour from our Favourite Felines that can only be categorised as Naughty. I have a litany of things Pussa has done from stealing roast lamb, to bullying Soph, to escaping over the fence and onto the neighbour’s balcony (requiring Mrs Pet Parent to risk life and limb to retrieve the escapee). Soph on the other hand is the poster child for angelic cat behaviour. The naughtiest thing she seems to be able to come up with is eating my hair. Probably more strange than naughty. Despite their mischievous carryings on, naughty cat behaviour is not done to spite us owners, but rather as a way of communicating and getting more of our attention.

There are a few cat behaviours which are tell-tale signs that your puss-cat wants more of your focus:

Scratching where they aren’t supposed to: The arms of our couch still shows the signs of where Pussa has had a go. Cats need a surface to scratch on to remove loose layers from their claws, aid their flexibility by stretching, and to lay down pheromones from the glands on their feet. Mostly cats will only go for the couch if they don’t have a better option. Sometimes though they will do it because they know it will get a reaction from you:

Meowing… a lot: Adult cats in the wild don’t meow at each other. Cat’s meow when they are kittens and want their Mum’s attention, then give it away until they realise that it works just as well on their hooman. They will meow at you when they want food, a head scratch, to be let outside and then to be let back in 5 seconds later. Soph is the have-a-chat at Cat Habitat HQ, especially when Pet Parents get home from work. Pussa is the silent type unless it’s close to dinner in which case she won’t shut up. If your cat starts to meow more than usual you’ll know that you’ve been preoccupied elsewhere and someone is feeling neglected;

Not using the litter tray: Have you got up in the morning and found that somebody has done a poo next to the litter tray? Ugh. The message here might be that the litter tray needs cleaning (and I won’t be using it again until that’s happened thank you), or it’s not in the right spot (even if it’s been there for the last 3 years….it’s not right anymore), or I just couldn’t be bothered walking in (that’s just puss-cat letting you know that they are far superior to you hooman).

In most cases these behaviours really are your cat’s attempt to get your attention. Sometimes though it’s a sign that there is an underlying medical issue, and if you feel they are displaying a behaviour that is out of the ordinary for them, then off to the vet you should go. However, it’s not a bad idea every once in a while to do a quick check to make sure you’ve got your Favourite Feline’s basic needs met:

Provide a scratching post: otherwise the couch gets it;

Provide a variety of cat toys: you should provide both independent cat toys such as our Fur Balls, CAT-erpillars, and Mice which they can play with when you’re not home. They also need interactive cat toys such as our Cat Teasers because just like human children your cat wants to include you in their play as well;

Keep the litter tray clean: nuff said;

Provide an appropriate feeding space:it should clean, well-lit and somewhere your cat feels secure. Feeding them in a high foot traffic hallway might be convenient for you but it’ll stress your cat because they’ll worry someone wants to eat their lunch. Make sure there is always a bowl of fresh water available and think about spoiling them with one of our personalised Feed Boards.

It’s quite a calming activity to spend a few minutes watching your cat sleep, but have you noticed that sometimes their sleep seems different to other times? It’s pretty obvious when they’re just snoozing. Their eyes are still a tiny bit open, their ears move around in response to slight noises and their breathing stays fairly constant. Other times though they are clearly dead to the world. There’s no reaction to sound, they make involuntary movements, their breathing might seem more erratic and maybe they even snore. Soph does, and Mr Pet Parent and I sit there giggling like children as poor Soph carries on oblivious.

Types of Cat Sleep

Just the same as humans, cats experience REM (rapid eye movement) sleep and non-REM sleep.

REM Sleep: This is the most prevalent type of sleep cats do. This is when their eyes move under their eyelids, whiskers, ears and limbs twitch and they wake up and go back to sleep easily and often. It’s estimated that up to 60% of cat’s sleep is REM sleep which is roughly 3 times more than humans do. It’s also considered that cat’s dream during REM sleep. How on earth do people know that?! I suspect because it’s been identified that that’s when humans dream someone has deduced that cats must do that too. Hmmm, I will remain sceptical until someone with credibility provides some evidence. Maybe it’s another case of us projecting human characteristics onto our pets again.

Non-REM Sleep: The non-REM phase is the deep sleep phase. Just like in humans this is when the body gets to repair and regenerate itself. If your cat is sick or has been injured, this is the time when the immune system can really swing into action and aid recovery. Kittens will need more non-REM sleep as their muscles and bones grow. It’s estimated that each non-REM cycle lasts between 15 and 20 mins.

This sleeping pattern has been inherited from domestic cats’ wild ancestors. The constant need for cats in the wild to be on alert for danger and prey necessitates this type of light sleeping. It allows for quick reaction to catch dinner or to evade being someone else’s.

Getting sufficient and good quality sleep is as important for your cat as it is for you, and will help keep them happy and healthy. What can you do to help foster quality sleep for your cat? If your Favourite Feline is anything like Pussa & Soph they probably go through phases of where they like to sleep at any given time. More often than not, they want to be within reasonably close proximity to their hoomans. This includes sleeping on the back of the couch (Soph’s personal fave), basically on any of the chairs in the lounge room, and of course there is the perennial favourite of our bed. We use our Feline Futons in those spots which helps contain cat fur and stop it permeating every single piece of furniture we own. Other times they want something that’s more enclosed to provide a sense of security. When that mood strikes we bring out the Cat Cot. Then of course for those in-between times there’s the Slumber Yard which has a lovely rustic look and can be personalised with your cat’s name too.

Given that your Favourite Feline spends up to 20 hours of the day in pursuit of sleep it’s the job of the hooman to provide the required infrastructure to facilitate such activity. When you’re in a situation like this puss-cat you just need the right cat bed underneath you.